President Milanović: Chief of General Staff Cannot Participate in Open Defense Committee Session Due to NSATU Mission Classified Information

The President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces Zoran Milanović addressed the public ahead of the Croatian Parliament’s decision regarding the Republic of Croatia’s participation in the NATO NSATU mission. Below is the full address of President Milanović:

“To begin with, I never said that Croatian soldiers in the NATO mission for logistical support to Ukraine would be physically present in Ukraine. Never. This falsehood, which does not necessarily have to be central to this narrative, is being fervently spread by Plenković and his followers, the leadership of the same party that used Russian and Moscow money and donations to undermine my Government in 2014 and 2015, at a time when Russia was already under sanctions for its invasion of Crimea. This is a well-known fact because it is public knowledge. Karamarko, Plenković – it’s all the same crowd.

The NATO mission in Ukraine is a wartime planning and support mission, the first of its kind in the history of this war. Recently, I signed 12 decisions regarding the deployment of a total of 945 members of the Croatian Army, 770 of whom are in NATO peacekeeping missions. I did not sign this 13^th wartime mission. Any mission that directly assists one of the warring parties is considered a war mission, regardless of where the members of that mission are located.

Before the discussion and decision in the Croatian Parliament, the Defense Committee needs to discuss the support mission to Ukraine. As the proposer of the decision, Minister Anušić is obliged to present and explain all the facts and aspects of the mission to the members of Parliament, so that the Croatian Parliament has complete information before making its decision. Only the proposer of this decision, namely the Government, specifically the Ministry of Defense, has all the information – technical, but above all, the key political information. No one else.

At the request of the HDZ, it was decided that the session of the Defense Committee will be public. It has been suggested that closing the session to the public would ‘hide’ certain information. However, nothing would be hidden except for information protected by law and contract, specifically military secrets.

I have decided that the Chief of the General Staff will not participate in the public session of the Defense Committee for several reasons:

1. The decision to participate in the mission is solely a political one that must be justified, made, and accountable by politicians, not soldiers. It is the duty of the Croatian Army to implement the decisions made by the competent authorities of the Republic of Croatia as stipulated by the Constitution. The Croatian Army cannot serve as a facade for politicians to hide behind.  

2. Since the positions of the Commander in Chief and the Government differ regarding the decision to participate in the mission, it is completely unacceptable and inappropriate – and, above all, perfidious – to place the Chief of the General Staff in a situation where he may have to take sides. This is a disastrous practice for democracy. The Chief of the General Staff is on the side of the law and the Constitution. He has clearly defined duties and powers, which certainly do not include participation in political decision-making. And it must remain that way.

3. In any case, the Chief of the General Staff does not possess any information that the proponents of the decision – the Government and Minister Anušić, for whom a large number of people work in the Ministry, primarily in the Directorate for Defense Policy – do not already have. In the term ‘defense policy,’ I emphasize ‘policy’ because such a department exists only in the Ministry of Defense, not in the General Staff, where all departments are operational. Once again, by law, the Ministry of Defense is solely responsible for planning and preparing operations, while the General Staff is responsible only for implementation.

4. The key reason I cannot allow the Chief of the General Staff to be drawn into this kind of public discussion at an open session is the fact – as Plenković and Anušić openly state – that they are bringing him there, and I quote, ‘as a witness.’ Some aspects of the mission cannot be discussed publicly but should be addressed in designated bodies, such as the Defense Council, which has not met in three years, the National Security Council, and the Defense Committee in a closed format. In the process of deciding on Croatia’s participation in the NSATU mission in Ukraine, certain classified information was obtained, including information from 23 September of this year. This information may be relevant to making the decision, but it cannot be discussed publicly. The Prime Minister, Minister Anušić, the Chief of the General Staff, and I, as the Commander in Chief, all have access to this information. By insisting on an open session of the Defense Committee, Minister Anušić, Plenković, and the ruling majority obviously want to conceal the specific information they possess.

5. Forcing the Chief of the General Staff to participate in a public session of the Defense Committee, where he cannot discuss the information he possesses, is an unscrupulous attempt to deceive the public and manipulate the Croatian Army. I have never allowed this, and I will not allow it in the next five years. 

• The responsibility for providing or withholding all information rests exclusively with the politicians, specifically the proposers of the decisions. This responsibility cannot be shifted to the Chief of the General Staff.

Therefore, as long as the Government and the HDZ seek to exploit the Croatian Army to manipulate facts and involve it in political processes, I will oppose this, protecting not only the Croatian Army but above all the Croatian Constitution and democratic order.”